Saints + Scripture

Simplex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Friday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Revelation, chapter ten, verses eight thru eleven;
Psalm One Hundred Nineteen (R/. one hundred three[a]), verses fourteen, twenty-four, seventy-two, one hundred three, one hundred eleven, & one hundred thirty-one;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter nineteen, verses forty-five thru forty-eight.

Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus cleanses the temple. The temple was the economic, political, and religious center of life. And it was seen as the very dwelling place of God on earth. It was the place where heaven and earth met, where the harmony between divinity and humanity was achieved—at least in principle. For the prophets remind the nation constantly that the temple and its rituals have been perverted.

One of the messianic expectations was that the anointed one would purify the temple. This is exactly what Jesus is doing. He is the Messiah who is trying to turn the temple once more into a place of prayer.

Keep this image of Jesus clearly in your mind as we take a further step. St. Paul said that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. So the true dwelling place of God is now in the very bodies of the followers of Jesus.

Bring this insight together with the image of Jesus cleansing the temple. You—your life, your body, your self—are meant to be a temple where God is praised. Every aspect of your life is meant to be turned to the Lord, dedicated to him.

Video reflection by Doctor Oswald John Nira (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.

Video reflection by Doctor John Bergsma (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.

Scripture Study—Day 91: Moor Uncomfortable, Day 13
The Song of Songs, chapter five, verses ten thru sixteen.

Commentary: The Groom's Song of Love; & the Torment of Separation (cont'd; Song, 5:10-16).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"It is in our power to correspond with continuing increase in grace that God wishes to grant us. He does so to help us advance, without hesitation or stumbling, toward His Kingdom."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"Be kind to each other. It is better to commit faults with gentleness than to work miracles with unkindness."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"It is an error to seek to banish the devout life from the solider's guardroom, the mechanic's workshop, the prince's court, or the domestic hearth. While a purely contemplative devotion cannot be practiced in these outer vocations, there are other kinds of devotion well-suited to lead those with a secular calling along the paths of perfection."
—St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church (1567-1622, feast: 24 January)